Mid century style, retro road trips, and the importance of websites in historic preservation and small business marketing were just a few of the subjects discussed in today's  wide ranging, occasionally smile inducing conversation with Mary-Frances O’Dea. Lustron homes (quirky prefabricated post WWII houses made of steel with porcelain enameled finish), time capsule motels, road trips, neon signs, muffler men, Schitt’s Creek, and the multi-colored kitchens of the 1950s were also woven into the lively and fast paced conversation.

Mary-Frances O’Dea is a Mid-Century enthusiast and accomplished web developer. Her work has been featured in national publications and in more than two decades of blogging. She is well known for bringing a unique blend of creativity and technical expertise to every project. As the founder of the successful website development business Apricity Marketing (www.apricitymarketing.com), she specializes in creating innovative and effective digital solutions that help businesses thrive.

Next week on Coffee With Jim, we delve into the fascinating and complicated stoy of American holiday's from Thanksgiving and Christmas to Labor Day and the family vacation. 

Jim Hinckley's America is sponsored by Two Lane America - Roadrunner Lodge Motel - Gilligan's Route 66 Tours - Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park - Wagon Wheel Motel - RouteTrip USA - Deanna Nelson State Farm Insurance - Cactus Inn Motel. Coffee With Jim is also made possible through support on Patreon.

Our guest on today's episode is Dal Smilie, Tin Can Tourists ambassador at large and co host of Tin Can Tourist Route 66 Centennial Caravan. We talked about the history of Tin Can Tourists, Curtis Wright and Airstream trailers, the Route 66 centennial, Studebaker trucks and the history of Studebaker in this wide ranging, road trip inspiring, smile inducing conversation.

Tin Can Tourists The Original Vintage Trailer and Camper Club - www.tincantourists.com

Tin Can Tourist Route 66 Centennial Caravan June 7, 2026 – June 14, 2026, two caravans that both end up in Texas. This is an official Route 66 Centennial event recognized by the Route 66 Centennial Planning Commission. https://route66centennial.org

Next week on Coffee With Jim, the weekly podcast from Jim Hinckley's America, we will be talking about quirky lodging, the planning of retro road trips, mid century style from architecture to neon signs, preservation and historic landscaping when we visit with Mary-Frances O’Dea of Retro Roadtrip. 

Today's program is supported by listeners through Patreon. It is also sponsored by Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park, Two Lane America, Cactus Inn Motel (McLean, Texas), Roadrunner Lodge Motel (Tucumcari, New Mexico), Wagon Wheel Motel (Cuba, Missouri), Gilligan's Route 66 Tours, RouteTrip USA, and Deana Nelson State Farm Insurance in Kingman, Arizona. 

Needles, California Mayor Janet Jernigan joined us this morning to discuss community revitalization, the Route 66 centennial, cultural and heritage tourism, and the importance of building cooperative partnerships. We also discussed the upcoming Route 66 Info Fair scheduled for Saturday, February 14, 2026. 

With presentations, authors, a car show, live music, El Garces tours and other programs, this event is an excellent opportunity to discover Needles, and to celebrate the Route 66 centennial as well as the 250th anniversary of the United States. The Route 66 Info Fair is also a tremendous promotional opportunity for Route 66 business owners, and for Route 66 communities. Brochures, visitors guides, and other promotional materials can be sent to: JANET JERNIGAN, 920 W BROADWAY, NEEDLES CA 92363

The materials will be provided at the Route 66 Info Fair. I will be on hand to assist with Route 66 travel planning, and use these visitor guides and brochures. 

Coffee With Jim, and the Jim Hinckley's America, is sponsored by these promotional partners:

On today's program it's a wide ranging conversation with Laura Misajet, Director of Museum Operations & Public Outreach at Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association in Goffs, California. The link between a 19th century camel caravan and Route 66. Edsel Ford's epic odyssey in the summer of 1915. The story of a pre Columbian trade route from the coast of California to New Mexico. A Harvest Host camp ground, an opportunity and "A Camp With Camels" event to kick off Route 66 centennial celebrations. An historic ten stamp mill. A Mojave Desert ghost town transformed into a destination.

That's just a small sample of why you will want to share this smile inducing, road trip inspiring episode of Coffee With Jim, the weekly podcast from Jim Hinckley's America, with friends. 

Today's program is sponsored in part by: 

It's fittingly promoted as a dessert museum, an interesting blend of old fashioned ice parlor and local hangout, and a huge collection of Superman memorabilia. But this is not the only thing that makes Supertam On 66 in Carterville, Missouri popular with locals, and a destination for the Route 66 enthusiast.

There is also the infectious enthusiasm of owners Chris and Andrea Briley, and their passion for providing the folks in Carterville and neighboring communities, as well as the international Route 66 community, with a memory making stop that blurs the line between past and present. 

On today's program it's a fun and lively road trip inspiring conversation between the Briley's and Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley's America about entrepreneurial adventures, building a sense of community, the changing face of small town America, and the magic of Route 66. Do you have someone in your town or city possessed with a sense of community and a strong entrepreneurial spirit that should be spotlighted? 

Today's program is sponsored in part by listeners through Patreon. It is also sponsored by the Wagon Wheel Motel, RouteTrip USA, Roadrunner Lodge Motel, Gilligan's Route 66 Tours, Deana Nelson State Farm Insurance in Kingman, Arizona, Cactus Inn Motel, Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park, and Two Lane America. 

Cyrus Stevens Avery is known today as the Father of Route 66. But he was more, much more. Visionary highway commissioner, businessman, pioneering rangleand conservationist, and innovator. The legacy of the U.S. Highway 66 Association, a manifestation of Avery's genius and ability to build a network of cooperative partnerships,  lives on as the Route 66 renaissance.

On today's episode we visit with Joey Madia that is bringing the Cyrus Avery story to life for a Route 66 centennial road show, and a series of educational programs. Madia is a master at bringing historic personalities to life. His list of accomplishments is lengthy - novelist, screenwriter, playwright, actor, historical educator, storyteller, and director. He has designed history based puzzles for escape rooms in North Carolina, Scotland, and the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

To contact Madia and schedule a Cyrus Avery program - [email protected]

Today's program is sponsored in part by supporters of Jim Hinckley's America through Patreon. It is also sponsored by Deana Nelson State Farm in Kingman, Arizona, Gilligan's Route 66 Tours, Roadrunner Lodge Motel, Wagon Wheel Motel, Two Lane America, RouteTrip USA, Cactus Inn Motel, and Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park. 

Lots of inspiration and thought provoking discussion in today's conversation. Our guest taught art at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. And he spent ten years as an Emmy winning television graphics producer in New York City. That diversity is refelected in sculptor Donald Gialanella's  work.

He is an artist with unique vision, and a passion for using public art as a catalyst for community development. His ability to transform a diverse array of discarded and cast off items into manifestations of whimsy and child like imagination have created landmarks for communities and universities. 

For the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Baton Rouge, Louisiana he created a giant dog - made of stainless steel pet food bowls. For the City of Kingman and the Route Association of Kingman Arizona, he created a towering anthropomorphic hare that casts long shadows over Route.

And for Shipwreck Dive Park he created a 500 pound treasure chest sculpture. It was exhibited on the oceanfront walk in Pompano Beach for a year before being sunk in the Atlantic ocean and becoming part of an artificial reef system attached to the deck of a sunken ship called the Lady Luck.

Today's it's a program filled with imagination, vision, inspiration, and ideas. And you can learn about The Life and Work of Donald Gialanella, a film that you can help bring to fruition. 

And next week, we visit with Joey Madia, a screenwriter, playwright, escape room and immersive experience designer, actor, director, and the host of Into the Outer Realms program that is creating a road show about Cyrus Avery for the Route 66 centennial in 2026. 

The annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is about the business and preservation of Route 66. It is a one of a kind networking opportunity, and a lot of fun with friends and friends yet made. It is also a tangible link to the annual US Highway 66 Association conventions of the 1930s that played a pivotal role in the transformation of Route 66 from highway to icon. 

On today's program we talked with Cheryl Eichar Jett and Debyjo Ericksen, two of the organizers behind the annual conference. We discussed the history of the event, its importance to the Route 66 community, the upcoming 2025 conference, and the role of the conference in ensuring that Route 66 remains relevant well beyond centennial celebrations in 2026. 

Next week on Coffee With Jim, we talk with internationally acclaimed sculptor Donald Gialanella about his work and Route 66 connection. We will also be talking about the role of public art in building a sense of community and community purpose. 

Today's program is sponsored in part through listeners support on Patreon. It is also made possible by RouteTrip USA, Cactus Inn Motel, McLean, Texas, Roadrunner Lodge Motel in Tucumcari, Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park in Albuquerque, Two Lane America, Deana Nelson State Farm Insurance, Gilligan's Route 66 Tours, and the iconic Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri. 

Today in the virtual diner that is Coffee With Jim we had a lively conversation about time machines, the illusion of time travel, Edsel Ford, the allure of the lowly Model A Ford, and the magic that is a road trip on Route 66 with Jackie Dunn of the Tulsa Model A Ford Club. And we talked about getting a younger generation hooked on the Model A and the great American road trip. 

Next week on Coffee With Jim, we will be visiting with Debyjo Ericksen, Teri Ryburn, and Cheryl Eichar Jett, organizers of the annual Miles of Possibility 66 Conference.  This one of a kind event blends the business of Route 66 with the fun that people expect when sharing adventure on this storied highway.

Today's program is made possible by supporters of Jim Hinckley's America on Patreon. It is also made possible by the time capsule Roadrunner Inn Motel, Gilligan's Route 66 Tours, Cactus Inn Motel, RouteTrip USA, Deana Nelson State Farm Insurance, Two Lane America, and the iconic Wagon Wheel Motel.  

Muffler men. The surprising history of miniature golf and it's connection to Rock City. A giant roadside duck. Politically incorrect roadside architecture. A motel drive in theater combination. South of The Border. A house shaped like a shoe with an ice cream parlor in the sole. 

On this special episode of Coffee With Jim, the weekly podcast from Jim Hinckley's America, author and humorist Jim Hinckley shares the story of iconic and obscure road side attractions.  It's road trip inspiration of epic proportions!

Next week on Coffee With Jim we will be talking time machines and time travel with Jackie Dunn of the Tulsa Model A Ford Club. An old two lane highway, a Model A Ford, a Sunday afternoon drive to the diner for dinner. It's as close to time travel as we can get!

Join us for another road trip inspiring conversation next Sunday morning. After all, Jim Hinckley's America is a shared adventure!

Today's program is sponsored in part by your support through Patreon. It is also sponsored by the Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the iconic Wagon Wheel Motel, Gilligan's Route 66 Tours, the Cactus Inn Motel in McLean, Texas, Two Lane America, RouteTrip USA, and Roadrunner Lodge Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. It is also sponsored by Deana Nelson State Farm in Kingman, Arizona.

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